Rural South Africans think their councillors are corrupt, ineffective and unresponsive, according to an Idasa survey released just six weeks before the next local government election on May 18.

About 70% of people polled in rural areas of four provinces said councillors were not doing a good job and municipalities did not provide a good service, Idasa said in a summary of the findings.

Two thirds thought councillors benefited personally from tenders either through allocating them to family and friends or through bribes. Seven out of 10 people think it is easier to get services from the local authority if you have an insider friend or relative.

More than half of those questioned said councils had made no progress since the 2006 election in the fight against corruption.

"Our findings confirm that the local government crisis in South Africa is deepening and starting to become a structural systemic problem," Idasa said.

"Despite the efforts from government to fight corruption, it doesn't seem that there are results that are noticed by the population."

The ANC has conceded that some councillors have given little to the job. The party says it has implemented controls to ensure that better candidates are nominated for the coming election.

Although a big majority of those polled said councillors did not listen or did not respond, nearly a third said they would still approach a councillor or ward committee with a problem. Barely one in 10 people said they had or would join a protest against poor service delivery.

About half said the level and quality of municipal services had stayed the same over the past five years.

Nearly three out of 10 thought they had actually become worse.

Though the government consistently claims the provision of safe water as its greatest success, more than half of those questioned said it remained their biggest challenge and barely one in five said water services had improved after the past year.

Local roads came second as the main priority for 15% and joblessness third with one in 10 naming in their biggest concern.

"The main message from this survey is that the distance between those who govern and those who are governed is increasing in South Africa; that local government is more and more governing the municipalities on behalf of its citizens and not with its citizens, which affects its legitimacy negatively and steers South Africa away from its collective vision of establishing a developmental democracy."

The message from voters to prospective councillors was clear:

• "Truly listen to us and be responsive to our needs;

• "Communicate actively and be transparent about how you use our money;

• "Be accountable to your electorate and not only to your party."

The survey was financed by the Canadian International Development Agency.